New Zealand top tips / accommodation required - please!

[kevoconnell]

Hi there and thank you firstly for having a look,

We are off to New Zealand from Dec 7 - Jan 7 2007/8 and would value you advice/top tips as to what not to miss.

We would also like to have recommendation of accomodation for the traveller who isn't too bothered of the luxurious nature of accomodation, believing being there is the luxury, not the quality of the duvet!

We request top tips for places to stay in: Punakaiki, Fox Glacier / Franz Josef, Queenstown, Te Anau, Milford Sound, Alexandra, Lake Tekapo.

We also have a roaming 7 days in the north island that is still unplanned so any top tips would be really appreciated!

Thank you in advance

Kev & Hazel

[sazzer79]

Hi guys, great that you're coming to NZ. I'm a local who logged into this site because i'm going travelling next year too. I live in Dunedin so have done a lot of travelling in the south island.

For Franz Josef, i recommend the Rainforest Retreat -sounds flash but they have the entire range of accom from luxury to backpacker/cabin and its a really nice set up - rainforest retreat.co.nz. As affordable as you will get here and as i said, a really nice environment.

Punakaiki is a great attraction but it's not really even a town, just a tourist stop off so accom is really limited, only 2 places to stay. You don't need to stay the night, i recommend staying in Westport, a quaint little fishing/mining village about an hour north where we've stayed in a lovely park - called, funnily enough Westport Holiday Park - once again, a nice wee set up with the range of accom and prices, we really enjoyed it. No website but email westportholidaypark@xtra.co.nz.

In Te Anau you can choose from luxury 5 star to backpacker style. We've stayed a lot at the Te Anau Great Lakes Holiday Park - it's clean, modern and tidy and right on the lake front. Once again a range of options. teanaugreatlakes.co.nz. Another one that i haven't been to but has a good rating is Fiordland Great Views Holiday Park -website straightforward.

What i said about ratings - NZ has the Qualmark Standard which is indicated by a white fern icon on a black background and the appropriate number of stars. It is reliable and all these places i've recommended have a rating of 4+ out of 5 so its a good system. Also the Top10 chain of holiday parks have a good reputation so you're usually safe with them.

Queenstown is really expensive and busy at that time of year but has a campground and some backpackers. Personally i didn't like the YHA which is right in town. There's Discovery Lodge and another one i can't remember in town but not in the middle but there are several holiday parks, which, being queenstown, are pretty nice.

Hope this is helpful. In terms of the South Island for travelling, basically what they tell you to see is pretty much what you should see. If you get a chance to go to Stewart Island take it. North Island - well Rotorua and Taupo are the tourist hotspots and with good reason. The Bay of Plenty and Coromandel Pensinsula are beautiful too. But if you want to see some wild country and a side of NZ that many tourists don't - go over the Urewera Mts to the East Coast - Gisborne, Opotoki, and down through Hawkes Bay. As i said, wild landscape, different culture, like stepping back in time, and of course, Whale Rider was filmed around there, you can even go to the location.

Speaking of films, a lot Lord of the Rings was filmed around Queenstown and Central Otago but you'll come across the tours as you get there. Pretty much it's hard to find crap accom in NZ unless it's above a pub in a dodgy place. As i said, you can go by certain chains and the Qualmark system if you want to really know and at that time of year you do need to book ahead.

Gosh this is really long but hope it is helpful.
All the best!
Sarah Cross

[hnhn]

I think once you're in Spain, you can't miss mallorca and costa del sol hotel. They are all unforgettable places to visit and I'd love to go back for awhile. If you're in Barcelona be sure to check out the Picasso museum as well and I think the best way to get around Spain is by train, and you can see the beautiful scene along the way.
Have a good trip in Spain!